


Too Far(For Now)

by xSpeechlessx



Series: Thicker than Blood [1]
Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Museum Trio, but its okay, had a lot of fun writing this, here you go guys! fresh from the fic making oven, the boys fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22352794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSpeechlessx/pseuds/xSpeechlessx
Summary: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me. Sometimes the littlest things can spark the biggest outcomes and when they do all you can do is deal with the aftermath.OR the one where Giovanni and Sylvie fight and have to figure out how to talk it out, with Molly's help of course.
Relationships: Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage
Series: Thicker than Blood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637740
Comments: 8
Kudos: 97





	Too Far(For Now)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! I hope you enjoy my first Epithet Erased Fic! Its probably the longest thing I've ever written. Please let me know if you find any errors! I had my sister read over it but we may have still missed some. I would also like to thank razorbladetheunicron (AKA the author of Drowzy Means You Sleep When You Want. Please go read!) for motivating me to write my own story. Enjoy!
> 
> Edit: Minor fix for the description cause I can't proofread apparently.

Molly ran from one room to the next pulling any and every blanket she could find behind before she finally stopped in the living room to place them into a quickly growing pile. She turned and walked into the kitchen and returned with a slightly steaming pizza fresh from the oven in one hand and a bowl of popcorn in the other, walking slowly to keep either one from tipping she quickly placed them on the table and turned to set up the movie. When she finished, she stepped back to admire her work and smiled to herself. It was perfect! 

She had just turned to walk back into the kitchen when she suddenly heard voices from the hallway. She smiled again as she quickly pivoted on her heel to walk towards the door instead and pull it open. The bickering pair outside stopped as soon as the door opened and turned to look at her. “Boss! Sylvie!” she called excitedly.

“Bear Trap!” Giovanni rushes forward and begins to ruffle her hair affectionally which causes Molly to giggle and push his arm away.

“Stop it! Don’t make me lock you out!”

“HA! We both know you wouldn’t do that to your most favorite boss!” 

She giggles again before turning to address Sylvie. His face is slightly flushed which is the only indicator of the apparent argument he and Giovanni were in before she had interrupted them. Quirking an eyebrow, she asks “Did you two run into each other on the way here?” 

Sylvie gives an exhausted sigh before nodding “We met up about a block away. He keeps proposing some preposterous plan to steal from the museum again.”

Molly turns to look at Giovanni with her eyebrow still raised. “Really? After what happened last time?”

“It’s a perfect plan!” he says defensively “and it won’t be anything like last time! Anyways, you ready for movie night?”

She raises her eyebrow “It’s noon?”

Giovanni thinks for a minute “Movie day then!”

Sylvie releases another deep sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose before he steps forward. “May we come in?” 

“Of course!” Molly quickly moves to side to allow the pair to step inside. “Sorry!”

Giovanni is the first to step inside as he responds to Molly “Bear Trap! What did we talk about?”

“To stop apologizing so much?”

“Righto! Now that you’re an official bad guy you don’t have to say sorry so much!”

Molly beams at him. Ever since that night at the museum she really had been trying to stand up for herself more often. She’d been telling her dad that she couldn’t watch the shop at night anymore and she’s been standing up to her sister more often too. She truly does love both of them deeply, but she’s made up her mind that she was going to put herself first.

Sylvie ambles in after him and glances as her “I’m glad you’re doing better though; I’ve noticed that you haven’t come by to cash in your one free session.”

“I appreciate the offer, I really do! But...”

Sylvie raises an eyebrow and turns to look at her fully with a slight smirk. “But?”

“I just don’t see you as a therapist!”

He gives a slightly confused look “I am a therapist though? What would I be?”

Molly gives him a stern look “A friend. I don’t want you around to listen to my problems or try to help me be happier just because I’m one of your patients. You do make me happy but it’s because you’re my friend.”

Sylvie looks taken aback and he doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Molly that’s-“

“Are you two just gonna stand by the door all day or are we gonna get this party started?!”

They both jump and turn to see Giovanni had already made himself comfortable by plopping himself directly into the center of the blanket pile Molly had set up earlier and was already chewing on a slice of pizza. “C’mon! The pizza is getting cold!”

“Of course!” Molly quickly ushers Sylvie the rest of the way in before closing the door. “Let me just grab the drinks and we can start the movie!” She quickly turns and jogs into the kitchen.

Sylvie turns to Giovanni and places his hands on his hips “Don’t just make yourself comfortable as soon as you get here! Its rude!” he lightly scolds. 

Giovanni sticks his tongue out at him before replying “You’re not my mom!” 

Sylvie sighs “No, I’m not. Though I have to wonder how either of your parents deal with you considering how you act now.”

Giovanni’s expression suddenly turns sour and he opens his mouth to reply but their bickering is cut off by Molly’s return. “Are you guys okay?” They turn to see her standing in the doorway uncertainly. In her arms are three cans of cola. “Do you guys want to do this another time?” she offers though she can’t hide the slight disappointment in her voice. 

Was this a bad idea? she wonders. “It’s okay if you don’t feel like hanging out today.” 

Both of them are quick to assuage her doubts. Giovanni is the first to speak, he sits up straight from the blanket pile. “C’mon bear trap, you know how much I’ve been looking forward to movie night! Wouldn’t miss hanging out with you for the world!” 

“Yes, I’ve also been eagerly waiting for a chance to spend some time with you. I’ve never been to a movie night and I expect you’ll make my first one enjoyable.”

She still looks a bit doubtful. Deciding to change the subject Giovanni interjects “So. Bear Trap, what’r we are watching?”

Molly glances at him, “Just some action movie.” She says in a small voice, “I thought a superhero movie would be something we’d all like to watch.”

“Alright!” he cheered, “I love superhero movies! What about you, kid?” he looks a Sylvie and silently makes a truce till further notice. 

The dream caster nods “Yes, though I don’t watch too many films I imagine that an action hero genre should be fun.”

Molly finally nods looking slightly relived. “Alright, let’s start then.” Since Giovanni was already in the middle of the blanket pile, she plops down on one side and gets comfortable. She looks at Sylvie who continues to stand awkwardly off to the side and gestures for him to sit down “Are you going to sit?”

“Uh” Sylvie looks down at the only available spot next Giovanni. “I don’t know…”

“Hey! It’s not like I have cooties or anything” Giovanni interjects in mock offense.

“I just- I would rather-.” He begins to stutter slightly in embarrassment before looking down. “I’m not comfortable sitting so close to other people…”

Neither Giovanni nor Molly say anything, they share a look before Molly replies “That’s okay! You can sit in the armchair!” she stands and pulls one of the blankets out of the pile to hand to Sylvie. He nods gratefully before making his way over to the chair. “You guys ready?” They both nod again, so she turns to start the movie. 

It’s a typical cliché movie with the plot of the movie just the hero having to face off against the villain over some world destroying problem. About halfway through Molly hits pause and sits up with a stretch. “I’m going to make more popcorn. Do you guys want anything while I’m up?”

When they both shake their heads, she stands and makes her way to the kitchen. Whiles she’s gone both sit silently, awkwardly, before Sylvie breaks the silence “Why did you join that criminal organization?”

Giovanni looks at him questioningly “You mean the Banzai Blasters? I dunno,” he shrugs noncommittedly “I guess I just wanted to be a bad guy.”

Sylvie says nothing, instead he looks at him from the corner of his eye “Are you sure that’s the only reason?” 

“Uh, yeah I think so. Where are you goin’ with this?”

“Are you sure” he says slowly “it’s not because of your father?”

Giovanni’s relaxed demeanor changes instantly stiffening instantly he snaps to look at Sylvie fully. “Kid, don’t get into things you don’t understand. How do you even know about that anyways?”

Meeting Giovanni’s glare evenly he replies “Earlier when I mentioned your parents you suddenly got upset. I know your mother is still present so it wasn’t hard to determine that your father may be absent.”

Giovanni continues to glare at him “You shouldn’t try to pry into other people business so much.” He says sharply “especially when they didn’t ask for it.”

“I can help you though! My own parents left me when I was very young, so I know what it’s like to not have a parent around! To feel all alone! All this pent-up anger and ‘villainy’” he quirks two quotation marks, “makes sense now. “Your fathers absence-“

“Shut it!” Giovanni snaps. Standing up he towers over Sylvie “Just ‘cause you try to play therapist with Bear Trap doesn’t mean you can push that crap onto me! If I wanted some know-it-all kid to barge into my business, then I would have asked!”

“But-“

“But nothing! Like I said, I don’t need no snot nosed brat thinking he can ‘fix’ my problems just because he thinks he’s more grown up than he actually is.” 

Sylvie wrinkles his nose and his mouth twists into a thin line before he continues in a dangerous voice, “If you would just listen to me maybe you could finally get over your issues and stop pretending to be some wannabe villain just to make up for the fact your dad left you when you were a kid!”

Anger boiled deep in Giovanni’s belly at the remark, “What do you know anyways!” he spits, slamming his hands on the table harshly, his eyes bright with anger, “You’re just some nobody kid anyways! You don’t even have any friends.” He grits his teeth. He knows he should stop and shut it before he says something he regrets but this kid always manages to get under his skin and press every one of his buttons. “It’s no wonder no one can stand to be around you for more than 10 minutes! You never learn to shut up! Hell! Your own parents didn’t even want you around!” He instantly regrets the venomous insult as soon as it leaves his mouth. 

Sylvie sits ramrod straight in his chair after the remark. His face is flush after the subsequent yelling match and, though he still looks angry, it’s hard to miss the downright hurt and grief beneath the simmering anger in his eyes. “You know what?! I don’t need this! I’m a certified psychologist and I don’t have time to stand around and deal with a grown man’s daddy issues! I’m leaving!” He grabs his lab coat from the table and turns to go.

“Kid, wait.” Giovanni hold his hand out to stop him. Remorse beginning to echo in his voice.

Sylvie turns abruptly to glare at Giovanni “I’m NOT a kid!” he barks sharply before turning and storming out the door with a harsh slam.

Silence follows afterwards. Winning didn’t fill him with as much satisfaction as he thought it would, instead he’s filled with an almost hollow feeling that radiates from his stomach to his chest. 

“Boss!” he turns to Molly, she must have returned in the middle of the argument, and looking her in the eyes he expects the anger, and there is, but the emotion that reigns in her eyes, the emotion that stings more than the anger or the hurt, is disappointment. “How could you say that?”

“Bear Trap I-“

“No!” she cries. She looks dangerously close to tears at this point. A fact that does not go unnoticed by Giovanni and only increases the nasty feeling that settled into the bottom of his stomach. “You have to go apologize to him! Did you see his face? I’ve never seen him look that upset before!”

“I know.” He placated, “I’m sorry I- “

“You shouldn’t be saying that to me!”

He doesn’t reply. What could he say? He hears Molly sigh and sniffle almost silently before speaking. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you, it’s just, I thought we could have a lot of fun today but,” she stops and looks away to glare at the ground in frustration “but it feels like since you both got here all you’ve done is get on each other’s nerves and fight.” She turns to look at him but her eyes are still misty. “I really wanted to hang out with both of you, but…” she stutters slightly “…but it feels like every time we get together you fight. You seemed like you were fine before you got here, before I came around. Is it…” She glances to the side to avoid his eyes “Is it me?”

“No!” Giovanni instantly denies the question. He squats down and places a hand on each of Molly’s shoulders to make her look him in the eyes. “None of that was your fault! Every time we fight? That’s us just being dumb. We love hanging out with you and I know for a fact that kid is just happy being your friend. Never think this was your fault again. Because it isn’t, okay?”

Molly doesn’t say anything, she just sniffles before nodding. “Okay.” she says in small voice. Giovanni nods, satisfied, and squeezes her shoulders comfortingly before he moves to stand when Molly suddenly throws herself around his shoulders and squeezes. Giovanni, though surprised briefly, quickly returns the hug. After a moment he hears her ask in a small voice “Do you hate Sylvie?”

He answers instantly “No.” he breaks the hug to pull back and look at her, wiping a few stray tears from her cheeks as he continues, “We may fight, but to be honest? I’m just as fond of the kid as you. Just don’t let him know I told you that.”

Molly giggles softly and lets a very faint smile show but just as quickly lets it drop. “Why did you say something so mean then?” She asks seriously. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so upset. Not even when Mera took his epithet in the museum.” It was true, in the short time that both had known the Dream Caster he had been nothing but pride and smugness. He radiated an aura of confidence and security, but the moment Giovanni had brought up his parents, a secret he briefly let loose before dismissing as if it were nothing, they witnessed a crack the façade that neither had known was there. 

Giovanni releases one of her shoulders and uses it to rub his face wearily and looks to the side “I don’t know,” he says softly, “When he brought up my pops, I just sort of…lost it? I just wanted to make him stop talking, I wasn’t really thinking about what I was saying as much as just… making him stop. I know that’s no excuse though.” This time he takes both hands to rub either of his temples and once again sighs deeply. “I really need to apologize.” 

“That’s right!” he looks at Molly again when she speaks and is met with a fiercely determined look. “We have to go find him so you can say sorry!”

Giovanni rubs his neck awkwardly “I don’t know Bear Trap, maybe we should let him cool off before we track him down.”

Molly places her hands on her hips and shakes her head “Giovanni, we need to do it now! How would you feel? If you were told that you parents didn’t want you? And that you had to go home all by yourself thinking that no one wanted you around? Come on!”

He sighs again before complying “Okay, okay, you’re right.”

“Yes, I am.”

Giovanni smirks “Look at you are standing up for yourself. Glad we had a real breakthrough, even if it was your boss you had to stand up to.” he teases. He stands and turns towards the door “Alright! let’s go find him!”

He waits by the door while Molly grabs her bear hoodie. As he swings the door open, he stops “Where do you think he would have gone”

Molly shrugs before answering “He probably started walking home. If anything, that’s the best choice for now.” 

He nods and they both head downstairs and walk through the toy store to make it to the sidewalk out front. “That’s weird.” She suddenly says

Giovanni looks at her questioningly.

“The door was still locked. Wouldn’t he have come through this door?”

He shrugs. “Maybe he used the back door? He was upset but he’s definitely smart enough to keep the door locked when no one’s down here and” He gestures around the dark and empty room, “he’s clearly not here right now.” 

Molly purses her lips slightly but doesn’t argue “That’s true…” she turns to lock the store again and Giovanni twists to look towards the way he and Sylvie had come from. He feels another rush of guilt as he remembers their walk here only an hour before. Why did he have to be so stupid? No matter how angry he got at the kid even he could admit that he took it too far. He was so lost in thought that he misses what Molly says next. He jumps and turns to look at her when he feels a slight tug on his jacket “What?”

She gives him a worried look before repeating her question “Do you think we should split up to look for him? One of us can start heading in the direction of his house and the other can stay here to look around.” 

He really doesn’t want to split up, mostly because the thought of actually finding Sylvie and having to face him without Molly made him nervous, but he couldn’t deny that it would be faster to find him if they split. He nods.

“Alright, I’ll head this way.” He jerks his head in the direction of Sylvie’s apartment, “He hasn’t been gone that long so chances are he probably only went a few blocks, you stay here and look around the area, if I don’t find him I’ll head back to help look around here.” He glances up at the sky and notes the dark clouds rolling in overhead. “We better make it quick too. Looks like a storm is rolling in.”

Molly nods and with that they go their separate ways with her looking around the toy store and surrounding buildings, and Giovanni turning on his heel to head down the opposite way. Watching him walk away Molly sighed to herself. This was going to be harder than she thought with Giovanni acting so reluctant to face Sylvie. With a shake of her head, she turns and begins to look around for any hint that Sylvie was still in the area.  
******** *********

10 minutes later Molly was having no luck. The sky continued to thunder overhead and she worried that they wouldn’t find him before the storm hit. She had searched every corner of the store and had asked the other shop owners surrounding the store if they had seen him. Looking down the alley that connected the apartment to the building next door she was just about to give up and call Giovanni to ask if he was having any luck when she spots the tiniest glint of gold in front of her. She begins to look around her more closely and spots small bits of golden sand drifting in the wind around her and snaps her head upwards to spot a small figure on the roof of the toy store. 

Of course! He never left the store, that’s why the door was still locked! She quickly rushes back to the store and calls Giovanni. “Boss! He’s still at the store! He’s on the roof!” 

After confirming that Giovanni was on the way back, she hangs up and finally makes it back to the front door of the store. She quickly she unlocks it and, without even bothering to lock it behind her again, she quickly rushes through the toy store, dodging around the displays.

Ignoring the apartment door, she skids to a stop in front of the window that leads to the fire escape, which is the only way to reach the roof. As she works on opening the old window, she notes that its already unlocked and is even slightly open, indicating that someone must have gone through it earlier. As she climbs over the windowsill she pauses as she realizes that she hadn’t told Giovanni how to reach the roof of the building. She briefly debates on whether she should call him again but decides against it but leaves the window open so Giovanni would at least be able to know which way she went. She turns and begins to traverse the stairs. Puffing slightly as she reaches the top of the stairwell, she considers the ladder that takes you to the very top of the building. What is she going to say to him? Should she wait for boss? What if it wasn’t even Sylvie up here? Any decision to wait is instantly thrown out the window though when she hears a small hitch of breath from the roof. If it’s really Sylvie, then he’s definitely been crying, and she wasn’t going to stand around while one of her friends was so miserable. 

Making up her mind she grasps the first bar and begins the short climb up. When she reaches the lip of the building, she stops. At the very far side sitting with his head resting on his raised knees was Sylvie. She couldn’t see his face but from where she was staying, she could see the faintest jump of his shoulders every once in a while. She slowly pulls herself the rest of the way up and stops to figure out the best way on how to approach him. Thinking the direct approach would work best she begins to walk towards him quietly so as not to startle him. Though she knows he’s aware of her presence, because of the gravel on the rooftop silently making her way of to him was impossible, he does not once look up at her or say anything. Finally, when she’s just a few feet from him she stops. “Sylvie?” he doesn’t reply “Sylvie, please look at me” once again he doesn’t reply so she takes a few more steps till she’s right in front of him. “I know what Giovanni said was awful, but he-” she stutters slightly “-he really wants to apologize!”

He finally breaks his silence to whip his head up suddenly to look at her with red rimmed and bloodshot eyes he snaps “Oh? Is that right?” He laughs but it’s a bitter and sharp sound. “He wants to apologize, huh? Is it because he wants to say sorry? “Or” he turns and looks at her fully “is it because you asked him too?”

“HE wants to” she says desperately “he feels bad about what he said, he’s been helping me look for you this whole time!

Sylvie scoffs and once again turns to rest his head on his knees again, burying his face he replies “Whatever, he’s probably just putting on a show to make you happy.”

“That’s not true!” But he doesn’t reply instead he just tightens his hold around his legs and ignores her. Molly is at a loss. She silently thinks of what to say before giving up and simply asking “Can I sit with you?” It’s an innocent question and though he doesn’t say anything she twists on her heel and uses the wall to slide next to him anyways. They sit for a few minutes before she breaks their silence once again. “Sylvie? You know how you told me once I have to stop bottling up everything and that its okay to talk to other people about my problems? Why don’t you talk to me? I’m here and I’m scared for you.” She hears a small mumble from him “What did you say?”

“I said” he snaps his head to look at her again “Why do you care?!” 

“Because you’re my friend! I care about you!”

“But you shouldn’t!” he slams both hands down and gravel sprays in several directions and glares at the ground in front of him “I don’t deserve to be your friend! I don’t even know how you manage to be around me!”

“What do you mean!? Of course, you deserve to be my friend! Why wouldn’t you?”

“I attacked you at the museum!” He begins to list things off his fingers “I couldn’t protect you from Mera! My Epithet was stolen and used against you! I even ruined your movie night!” Tears had begun to fill Sylvie’s eyes again and were close to spilling over. He sniffs wetly before turning away from her “Please, just go away. I just-“ his voice catches “I just want to be alone.”

“Sylvie! None of that was your fault! Yes! You attacked us at the museum, but neither of us is mad at you for that anymore! We still want to be your friend!” He says nothing and no matter how much prodding she did he refused to look or speak to her again. At a loss at what to do she sighs heavily and leans back across the ledge of the roof. While trying to brainstorm on what to do to she hears a faint creaking sound come from the direction of the fire escape. Realizing who it must be she jumps up and begins to run over, maybe she can’t get through to him but she’s pretty sure she knows who can. She yells behind her as she jogs away “Hold on! I’ll be right back!” not hearing a reply, and not really expecting one anyways, she makes her way to the ladder and, dropping to her hands and knees, she peers over the edge, down below was Giovanni “Boss!” she calls.

He looks up at her when she yells “Bear Trap?” 

“Boss! You have to come talk to him! He won’t listen to me!”

Giovanni looks uncertain, placing one hand on a rung of the ladder he asks. “Are you sure? Wont seeing me just make him feel worse?”

“No! you have to talk you him; he needs to hear from you that you’re sorry!” When he still looks hesitant Molly sighs and turns around to begin clambering down the ladder. She looks up and sees lightning flash across the sky, not much longer now. Giovanni takes a few steps back to give her room when she gets closer. When she finally jumps down, she turns to look at him and, after a moment, promptly slaps him across the face. Not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to get her point across.

Giovanni recoils slightly “Bear Trap!” he places his hand on the side she hit. It didn’t hurt, but he’s shocked more than anything that she actually hit him. “What was that for?”

“It’s to make you come to your senses! We’ve been looking for him this whole time so you can apologize!” She moves around him and begins to gently push him closer to the ladder. “You can’t back out now!”

Giovanni stumbles a bit as Molly pushes him but slams his hands onto the sides of the ladder to stop “I know, I know! I just…” he leans forward so his forehead lays against one of the rungs. “I just don’t know what I’m going to say to him…” he trails off

Molly stops pushing him and moves back to look at him. He’s hunched over slightly and his eyes rest on the ground in silence. She sighs. “Boss” she tugs on his jacket to make him turn around to look at her. “I know you feel bad about what you said but, standing here and feeling bad isn’t going to fix this. You need to go up there and talk to him, really talk. You can do this because even though you like to act like a villain, you’re one of the nicest people I know and the best boss anyone could ask for.” 

Giovanni, though he still looks uncertain, gives a slight nod. “Alright Bear Trap. I’ll go.” He ruffles her hair affectionally “Thanks for the pep talk kid.”

She smiles as he turns and grabs the first rung to begin pulling himself up “You’re welcome.” he hears her say.

He feels a bit better after his talk with Molly, but the nervous feeling sitting in the bottom of his gut refuses to leave. As he reaches the lip of the roof, he spots the kid sitting at the opposite ledge and the intense feeling of guilt returns and stabs him sharply in the stomach when he notes how absolutely miserable he looks. He hesitates and glances behind him to look back uncertainly at Molly, she makes a small shooing motion with both hands. He grimaces before turning and pulls himself up the rest of the way and begins to walk towards the hunched figure. 

When he’s just a few feet from him he’s suddenly forced to stop. The kid had completely surrounded himself with sheep. “Oh, come on!” he starts to wade through the flock of sheep carefully stepping over them to avoid setting them off. “Can you just let me say sorry! Do you even know how cold it is right now! He scans the sky with a worried look “And it’s about to rain! C’mon kid!” wrong choice of words apparently, as more sheep are added to the barrier and this time they’re working against him to push him back. They began nipping at his legs and hands and were rushing around him to move him farther back. 

“Really?! Would you just-OW- stop with the sheep and-“he yelps when one bites him hard “talk to me!” When the kid still refuses to look at him, he grits his teeth. Alright if he wanted to make this hard then so be it. Taking a breath Giovanni begins to forcefully shove his way through the throng. Pushing and kicking the sheep out of his way he begins to inch his way closer and closer until he’s just out of reach. Giving one last push through the churning mass of sheep, he lunges forward to latch onto either of Sylvie’s shoulders causing him to look up at him in shock “Enough!” he bellows “send them away!” Shaking him slightly to get his point across he adds “I know you’re upset but that’s exactly why we need to talk!” 

Sylvie looks as if he’s going to refuse. His eyes, though red and misty, are also angry and he opens his mouth to tell him to let go when Giovanni cuts him off. “Please.” He’s looking at him desperately. Sylvie looks away and sighs. With a wave of his hand he dismisses the counting sheep. He hears Giovanni sigh in relief. “Thanks” he says before releasing Sylvie to sit back on his knees. Sylvie lets him sit and catch his breath for a moment before snapping at him.

“What do you want?”

Giovanni turns to look at him in surprise “What do I want!? I’m here to talk obviously!”

“Well I don’t want to talk to you so just go!”

“Well too bad! I’m not leaving!” he sticks his tongue out at him

Sylvie wrinkles his nose, “You’re such a child. Fine! I’ll leave then” he moves to stand before Giovanni cuts him off, snagging the kid’s arm before he could storm off.

“Molly’s down there and she’s not going to let either of us leave ‘till we talk. So, you might as well shut up, and sit down, and listen to what I have to say!”

Sylvie growls under his breath “Fine!” He sits with a thump and crosses his arms. He pointedly looks away from Giovanni.

“Fine!” He shoots back. Shifting from his knees he sits with his legs and arms crossed.

Sitting like that for a moment Giovanni hears the slight rumble of thunder in the distance. Looking up he sees the sky has gotten noticeably darker. He lets out a sigh, obviously this kid was too stubborn to let up. turning to look at him he starts “Alright kid, listen up. neither one of us is getting anywhere and since Molly’s not going to let us go until we talk it out, I suggest we do or were going to be up here all night.” He hears Sylvie snort.

“I think I can handle one twelve-year-old girl.”

“Oh really tough guy?” He gestures behind him “Go on then.”

Sylvie doesn’t reply nor does he make a move to stand, “That’s what I thought. So,” he holds out a hand “I suggest that we talk cause the sooner we do the sooner we can both get off this roof and back inside. What do you say?”

Sylvie eyes his extended hand but makes no move to take it. He looks away again before replying “Fine.”

“Great!” Giovanni stands and moves to sit beside Sylvie, who stiffens but does not comment on it. Sliding down with a thud he thinks for a moment before starting. “I guess I should start with the obvious,” he scratches his head awkwardly “I’m sorry.”

He hears Sylvie snort again. “I mean it! I shouldn’t have said that stuff about your parents. Especially since you were just trying to help me.” Sylvie says nothing, so he continues “It was a low blow, I was just...so angry.” He sighs and closes his eyes “that’s not an excuse though.” Sitting up straighter he looks him in the eyes, “I was an idiot and believe me when I say that I’ll never say anything like that ever again.”

Sylvie stays silent through his speech and even when he finishes, he doesn’t say anything. Giovanni shifts awkwardly beside him as the silence draws on. The sky flashes with lightning and thunder follows soon after indicating that the storm was not far out. When the silence becomes almost unbearable Sylvie suddenly mumbles something almost silently into his arms from where they rest on his knees. “Uh, didn’t quite catch that?” 

Sylvie says nothing for a moment before he lets out a deep breath and lifts his head to look at Giovanni. “I said, I’m sorry too.” Dropping his gaze, he watches his hands which are twisting his fingers around. “I pushed too hard about something you were clearly not ready to talk about.” Sniffing slightly, he continued, “I thought that maybe I could push you to talk and maybe I could help you like I was trying to do for Molly…”he pauses and once again looks at him with a determined look“…but I was wrong. I should have stopped when you got angry, which you were more than justified to, but instead I started arguing too. So…I’m sorry” 

Giovanni elbows him gently “Hey, don’t get all sappy on me now kid. Just because I let all my mushy crap out doesn’t mean you have to.”

Sylvie lets out a small laugh “How was that sappy? All I did was apologize, you did too!”

“Yeah but when I did it, it was cool, you just made me sad.” 

Sylvie lets out a small laugh “Fine! I’m taking back my apology!”

“That’s the spirit!” 

He laughs again and they sit in for a moment each in comfortable silence. Giovanni was just about to suggest they head back when Sylvie suddenly speaks “You’re right you know” 

Giovanni tilts his head towards Sylvie to show he had heard him “I know I’m right, but maybe tell me what I’m right about right now?”

“My parents really didn’t want me.” He slumps into his knees and wraps his arms around himself with a deep sigh. He swallows against the sick, nasty feeling that settled at the back of his throat before continuing. “They barely stuck around long enough for me really recognize them as parents before they decided to ‘live life, go on an adventure, change the world’ and leave. I haven’t seen them for maybe 8 years now. Haven’t talked to them for at least 3. They still call sometimes, but I’ve given up on answering.” He sighs again and leans back till his head bumps the wall behind him and looks up at the dark sky, “For years I thought, maybe I can make them love me, you know? I would be the smartest, most mature, most amazing son who had the one of the best epithets ever and then they’d come back and say they’re sorry, that they were wrong and that they’d never leave me again and we could be together again but” his voice drops to a whisper. “they never did. And I realized that no matter what I did, they never would.” 

Giovanni says nothing the entire time. Only sits back and listens just as he had for Molly months ago in the museum. When he finishes, he takes a deep breath and releases it slowly before replying, “I know how you feel kid.” He looks awkwardly to the side “when my dad left, I thought it was my fault at first. Maybe if I was a better son, he would have stayed. After a while I blamed my mom, thought she had driven him off.” He rubs the side of his face tiredly “It took me years to finally realize it was never her fault or even my fault. He was just a bad dad and the only person I should be angry at was him.” He mirrors Sylvie and lets his head gently bump the stone wall. “At one point he actually called, said he wanted to see me again. I was over the moon, I thought he was gonna take me with him and finally act like a parent. But no,” he shrugs “all he wanted was to use me. You wanna know the first thing he said to me when I finally saw him again?” Out of the side of his eye he sees Sylvie incline his head slightly to indicate he was listening “He came to me begging for money. Said mom refused to help him.” He scoffed, “Can you believe that?” 

Sylvie sucks a breath sharply through his teeth “Yeah, not the nicest dude I know. When I said no, told him to screw off, he blew up.” He gestures randomly with his hands “He said that I ‘owed him’! That I should be grateful he even bothered to come all the way back to meet me. That was when I finally realized he couldn’t care less about me. That was the last time I saw him too. But ya know, I learned a lesson that day. You can’t spend your life chasing people who couldn’t give two craps about you, because in the end all its gonna do is hurt you. After that, everything became easier, I joined the Banzai Blasters and made some pretty good friends. I met Molly and even though me and my mom still have fights I think we’re a lot better now. I became” he smiles, “happier, I guess.”

“But- “Sylvie swallows thickly “I don’t have anyone else.” He looks away “And you said so yourself, I don’t even have friends.”

“Now kid I thought we already went over how I’m an idiot, okay? Besides, we both know that’s wrong. Molly’s your friend, hell she was going crazy trying to find you! And” he stops to choose his next words carefully. “I’m your friend too.” He admits quietly.

Sylvie suddenly looks up in surprise, but his expression quickly morphs into doubt. “But-“

“No buts!” He cuts him off. “It took a lot to admit that so you can’t try and say otherwise.” He pokes him in the chest “I’m your friend and there nothing you can do about it.”

Sylvie quirks an eyebrow, still looking uncertain.

Giovanni looks at him thoughtfully “You know kid? I think I have an idea.”

Sylvie looks at him curiously “And what would that be?”

“I’m making you an unofficial member of the Banzai Blasters! We’re making a special exception! Just for you!”

Sylvie looks surprised at the sudden reveal with an almost comical look on his face “What?!”

“You heard me! You’re now an unofficial official member of the Blasters!”

Sylvie looks exasperated “Don’t I get a choice? And isn’t there some fee to join!?”

Giovanni sticks his tongue out at him “Not a chance bud. I’m drafting you, and because its unofficial all the fees get conveniently waived! It’s one of my best plans yet!”

Sylvie still looks confused “But why would you want me to be part of your group?”

“I mean, you’re crazy strong, and smart too. Why wouldn’t we want someone like you? With you and Bear Trap on the team the Banzai Blasters would be unstoppable!“ He looks at Sylvie “and the way I see it is we get a new member and you get more people to hang with than your sheep. So, what do you say?”

Sylvie doesn’t say anything for a moment “I thought this was a draft?”

Giovanni smirks “Oh it is, but I figure a more willing draft would be easier to deal with.” Holding his hand out he continues to prod him “So?”

Sylvie looks down in thought and places his hand on his chin. After a moment he finally answers “Alright.” he shrugs and takes Giovanni’s hand. “Why not?”

“That’s the spirit!” Giovanni air pumps. “Sweet! Now that we’ve got a new member, we’ve got to get you a new uniform! Oh! And introduce you to the guys! We can take you to the secret hangout! This is gonna be sweet.” Giovanni is practically vibrating with excitement. 

“Nooo.” Sylvie groans. He drops his head on his knees again but there’s a ghost of a smiling on his lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he was actually wanted like this. It put a warm feeling in his chest that he couldn’t put his finger on. Looking up at Giovanni he says, “I’m NOT wearing that awful uniform and I’m definitely not calling you Boss.” 

“Okay one” Giovanni holds up a finger “the uniform is cool and two” he holds up a second finger “you can just call me the amazing Giovanni Potage.”

“HA! Absolutely not! “the smile on his lips grows a little wider 

Giovanni just shrugs “I’ll deal with it, Sleeper.”

“Sleeper?!” 

“That’s your new official Banzai Blaster nickname! You know, ‘cause you can put people to sleep? What d’ya think? I think it’s my best nickname yet! Well,” he smirks “besides Bear Trap.”

Sylvie is fully smiling now and turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “don’t you think that’s a little on the nose?”

“…it’s a yoyo trick too?”

Sylvie laughs at this. “Why don’t we just stick with Sylvie? It’s kind of a nickname already.”

“Eh, it’s kind of boring though and” he pulls a face “so normal. If you’re gonna be part of the Blasters you’ve gotta have a cool nickname!”

Sylvie chuckles “Alright, alright. Guess I’ve got no choice huh?” he leans back in thought, ignoring the nope from Giovanni, before looking at him again “It is kind of a cool name.” he admits.

“You got that right! And you know what this means?”

He side-eyes Giovanni suspiciously with a slight cock of his eyebrow. “I’m a little afraid to ask but, what?”

“You’re now officially apart of the Banzai Blaster family!” He throws his hands up in emphasis 

Sylvie says nothing and instead turns to look at Giovanni again with a surprised look. “Huh!?”

“Look kid, I know you think I don’t like you but to tell you the truth? You and Bear Trap? You’re the closest thing I’ve got to siblings.” He slings his arm around Sylvie and pulls him a bit closer to his side. “I know I act like an ass to you sometimes but believe when I say I’d never let anyone or anything hurt you or her and I’m now officially saying that if I ever go that far or hurt one of you like that ever again, you have my full permission to use your crazy cow to beat the crap outta me.”

Sylvie laughs a little at this but there’s also the unmistakable sound of sniffling too. “I’m definitely going keep you to that!” 

“Yeah I know you will half pint!” He suddenly tightens his arm around Sylvie and yanks him down to pull him into a headlock and begins to rub the top of his head with his fist. “You won’t miss any opportunity to beat the daylights outta me!”

“Hey! Watch it” He definitely laughing now as he attempts to push Giovanni away. “Don’t make me summon Beefton! You know I will! I’ll make him hold you from the roof by your ankles!”

“Yeah right! You can’t control your crazy cow, you said so yourself!

“Beefton is not a cow! Hes a bull!” he fully laughing now.

“Tomayto tomahto, it’s the same difference!”

Sylvie finally manages to get free of Giovanni’s vice grip, pulling his head away and holding Giovanni’s arm down he replies still laughing, “They are quite literally two different genders! It is not the same thing!”

Giovanni tries to snatch his arm back but when Sylvie refuses to let go he attempts to make him let go by shoving the kids face away gently with one palm. “Let go!”

“Never!”

As Giovanni struggles to pull his arm back by shoving Sylvie face away he suddenly feels a small drop land on the tip of his nose. He looks up and more rain begins to fall “Game over!” he yanks his arm free and stands. Holding out his hand to pull Sylvie up he begins to push him towards the ladder. “That storms finally here! We gotta get down from here!” The rain is picking up and lightning flashes overhead with a sharp crack that causes both to jump “YEP, time to go!” upon reaching the ladder Giovanni ushers Sylvie to go first and looks over the edge he calls for Molly. “Bear Trap?” he doesn’t get an answer. 

Sylvie, who had just reached the bottom, looks up at him “C’mon, she must have gone back already!”

Giovanni slings a leg over the roof and begins climbing down quickly, “Maybe you should slow down.” he hears Sylvie call up to him. 

“I got it! We’re just getting wetter hanging out here.” No sooner had the words left his mouth when he suddenly loses his grip with a yelp and slips and lands the last few feet on his back next to Sylvie who had jumped out of the way. “…Ow” is all he says. Cracking his eyes a bit he looks up at Sylvie who is leaning over him with concern.

“You okay?” 

“Yeah…” 

“Good.” he leans down to help him up “I told you to slow down” he says matter-of-factly 

As Giovanni manages to stand, he attempts to catch the breath that was knocked out of him “Now’s not the time for an ‘I told you so.’ I almost broke my neck!”

Sylvie rolls his eyes “You only fell three feet at most.”

“Still hurt like a bitch.”

“Yes, it certainly looked like it did.”

Giovanni lets out a defeated sigh “Welp, no reason to run now, we’re both soaked anyways.” Lightning flashes across the sky again and they both jump, snapping to look at the dark sky.

“I would suggest we don’t linger though. Getting wet wasn’t our only concern after all.”

Giovanni cracks his neck “Yup.” he says before they both turn and begin heading down the stairs back to the window that leads to the entrance of the hallway. When they reach it, they find Molly standing with her arms crossed and an amused look on her face. “There you are!” By now the rain was coming down in sheets and is soaking them further. When Sylvie swoops down to step through the window Molly quickly blocks the way. 

“Ah ah ah.” She tuts while waving a finger at them “first things first: did you guys talk?”

“Molly!” Sylvie exclaims “You can’t just keep us out here!”

Molly regards him with a raised eyebrow. “I can do whatever I want, its my house. So, answer my question: did you two talk?”

Sylvie groans and rubs his face both both hands “Yes Molly. We talked it out may we come in now?”

Molly doesn’t answer, instead she looks at Giovanni who is attempting to shield himself from the rain by raising his bomber jacket over his head “Did you apologize?”

“Yes! I said sorry! We kissed and made up! Can we please come in now?! Its freezing!”

Molly is silent, switching her gaze between the two until she finally nods, satisfied and moves to the side to allow them access. Sylvie scrambles through first and quickly moves out of the way to make room for Giovanni. When both have made their way inside Molly rushes into the apartment and returns shortly with two towels which they take gratefully. As Giovanni moves to close the window Sylvie looks at Molly in disbelief. “Were you really going to make us stand out there until we talked?!”

She shrugs and grins “I probably wouldn’t have made you stay out there too long. Just until you at least agreed to work it out. Maybe I would’ve made you guys hug it out too.”

“When did you become so conniving?”

She grins wider “Who said I wasn’t always like this?”

Sylvie looks disturbed but didn’t get a chance to reply before Giovanni turned back from forcing the window closed. “Y’know what Sleeper? She’s right!”

Sylvie looks at him incredulously “About what!? Locking us out?”

He smirks “Nope, about us hugging it out.” He rubs his chin in mock thought “but I think we should really make it a group hug y’know, to thank Bear Trap for helping us make up.”

Sylvie smiles evilly and turns to look at Molly “You’re right. It’s the least we could do to include her. We wouldn’t want her to be left out after all.” 

Molly sensing the danger emanating from the pair begins to back away slowly. “Don’t. You. DARE.”

They advance as she backs away “C’mon Bear Trap! Don’t you want a hug from your favorite boss?”

“Nope!” She turns on her heel and makes a break for the door 

Just as she grabbed the knob, she felt arms loop around her waist and lift her away “Not so fast!”

She shrieks as freezing water begins soak into her clothes “Giovanni! You’re freezing, let me go!”

“Not a chance! You’re getting some of this love too!”

She begins to struggle to try and get away when she feels two more arms loop around her with a fresh wave of cold. “Sylvie! Not you too!”

He smirks at her “This is what you get for locking us out. Accept your punishment!”

She continues struggling but begins to laugh “If you guys didn’t fight you wouldn’t have been out there anyways!” They don’t answer and eventually she stops struggling and loops an arm around each of them with a laugh “You should have seen your faces when I wouldn’t let you in!

They begin to laugh too. “We must have looked like half drowned cats!” Giovanni wheezes. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“I am impressed you stood up to us like that though!” Sylvie adds through laughs “Though I am concerned with your method it was effective in making sure we made up.”

After they calm down from laughing, they split apart and begin making their way back to the apartment. Molly goes to get another towel for herself and a change of clothes for the boys while Giovanni makes his way to the kitchen to begin working on a pot of soup to warm them up and to ‘heal those bite marks where the sun don’t shine’ as he put it. 

Sylvie sighs contentedly and leans back against the door with his eyes closed. The sounds of Giovanni cooking calming him. He shivers slightly as he feels the cold begin to seep into his clothes. “Molly! Are you having any luck with those clothes?” he calls.

“Just a minute” she yells back. A few moments later, she returns with some t shirts and sweatpants. Sorry, I couldn’t find his clothes! He never put them up when I washed them.”

Sylvie takes them gratefully with a huff, “We really should talk to him about his childish refusal to act like an adult.”

“Yeah, with the Soul Slugger Doom Bat™ and a rope” they turn to see Giovanni returning from the kitchen. Wiping his hands on his pants he reaches for the clothes Molly offers.

“You can’t beat up my dad!”

“I didn’t say we’d beat him up! Just threaten him a little!”

Molly puts her hands on her hips “No! When I get to that point, I’ll talk to him but I’m not going to make him do anything by threatening him.”

Sylvie interjects “Not to mention its illegal?”

“Yeah but-“

“No!” they both yell at the same time

Giovanni fold his arms with a pout “Fiiinnne.”

Sylvie smirks and turns to look at Molly “I’m going to change.”

“Ok, you can use the bathroom. It down the hall to the left.”

He nods and turns to begin walking down the hall “Thanks.” he says on his way by

She returns his nod and turns back to Giovanni pointing at him she says, “You can use my dad’s bedroom but only if you promise not to break anything in there!”

Giovanni blows a raspberry “I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah right.”

Molly and Giovanni’s banter is the last thing Sylvie hears before turning the corner to find the bathroom. Once changed he blows out a relieved sigh. He does admit it feels a lot better to be in dry clothes again. Stepping through the door again he enters the living room to see Giovanni already changed and murmuring to Molly quietly. He clears his throat and they turn to look at him. Molly comes forward to take his wet clothes to dry. Giovanni had helped himself to some soup and was looking better now that he was also changed and fed. Sitting down in the blankets again, he addresses Sylvie “Alright Sleeper, I think we need to figure out what to do next.” 

Sylvie looks at him with a raised brow “How’d you change so fast?”

He smirks “I didn’t, you’re just slow. So, me and Bear Trap were talking, and we agreed we need to talk.”

He sighs “I really don’t want to talk about what happened anymore. Today was emotionally draining enough so I’d rather drop it for now.”

Giovanni raises an eyebrow “We figured, we just wanted to know if you wanted to finish the movie.”

Sylvie feels his face heat slightly, “Ah, well then. I don’t care. We can do whatever you and Molly want to.” He yawns again. 

“Don’t you start that now too! Bear Trap was in here looking like she was about to fall over”

He snorts but before he can reply Molly returns, “I put the clothes in the dryer. They should be dry by the time you leave.” She walks over and sits beside Giovanni. Pulling the blankets around her she leans against his side with a yawn “Are we going to finish the movie?”

They both look at each other and shrug. Sylvie starts to walk back to the armchair to finish watching the movie when he suddenly feels someone grab his arm. Looking down he sees Giovanni looking up at him. "Where do you think you’re going?”

Raising an eyebrow, he answers “To the chair? To watch the movie?”

“Why don’t you just sit with us? It’s probably warmer than sitting in that dingy old chair by yourself.”

“It’s not-“he stutters. “I just-It’s a pretty comfortable chair.” 

Giovanni groans “Will you stop being so stubborn! It’s not like we’re sick or anything.”

“I know! I just think there’d be more room if I sat in the chair!”

Giovanni continues trying to persuade him “It’s definitely warmer to sit under the blankets with us.” 

“It’s just-“

Molly peeks around Giovanni to look up at him with an unimpressed look. “Sylvie. Please just sit so we can finish the movie.”

Meeting her eyes, he sighs and finally gives up. plopping down on the other side of Giovanni. He attempts to keep a few inches between them as they continue the movie. Though uncomfortable at first he slowly begins to relax and leans slightly into Giovanni’s side. His eyes become heavier as the warmth from the blankets and the others begins to wash over him. As he struggles to keep his eyes open, he misses the fact that he’s leaning completely against Giovanni and soon he’s fast asleep. 

Giovanni glances over at Sylvie and smiles. Good, he thinks. The kid needed some sleep after a day like today. Looking over he sees Molly had also fallen asleep. Reaching around her slowly so as not to disturb her he grabs the remote to turn off the T.V. placing it on the table he gently pulls the blankets around the two before looping an arm around both of them. Letting loose his own yawn he leans against the couch behind him before also falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


End file.
